Hitler
See also: A reportA Psychological Analysis of Adolph Hitler. His Life and Legend by Walter C. Langer. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Washington, D.C. With the collaboration of Prof. Henry A. Murr, Harvard Psychological Clinic, Dr. Ernst Kris, New School for Social Research, Dr. Bertram D. Lawin, New York Psychoanalytic Institute. p. 219 (Nizkor project)Dr. Langer's work was published after the war as The Mind of Adolf Hitler, the wartime report having remained classified for over twenty years. prepared during the war by the United States Office of Strategic Services describing Hitler's psychological profile states: He has been able, in some manner or other, to unearth and apply successfully many factors pertaining to group psychology Capacity to appeal to the most primitive, as well as the most ideal inclinations in man, to arouse the basest instincts and yet cloak them with nobility, justifying all actions as means to the attainment of an ideal goal. Appreciation of winning confidence from the people by a show of efficiency within the organization and government. It is said that foods and supplies are already in the local warehouses when the announcement concerning the date of distribution is made. Although they could be distributed immediately the date is set for several weeks ahead in order to create an impression of super-efficiency and win the confidence of the people. Every effort is made to avoid making a promise which cannot be fulfilled at precisely the appointed time Hitler's ability to repudiate his own conscience in arriving at political decisions has eliminated the force which usually checks and complicates the forward-going thoughts and resolutions of most socially responsible statesmen. He has, therefore, been able to take that course of action which appeals to him as most effective without pulling his punches. The result has been that he has frequently outwitted his adversaries and attained ends which would not have been as easily attained by a normal course. Nevertheless, it has helped to build up the myth of his infallibility and invincibility. Equally important has been his ability to persuade others to repudiate their individual consciences and assume that role himself. He can then decree for the individual what is right and wrong, permissible or impermissible and can use them freely in the attainment of his own ends. As Goering has said: "I have no conscience. My conscience is Adolph Hitler." This has enabled Hitler to make full use of terror and mobilize the fears of the people which he evaluated with an almost uncanny precision. His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it. From Wikipedia: Nazism The term "Nazi" was in use before the rise of the NSDAP as a colloquial and derogatory word for a backwards farmer or peasant, characterizing an awkward and clumsy person. In this sense, the word Nazi was a hypocorism of the German male name Ignatz (itself a variation of the name Ignatius)—Ignatz being a common name at the time in Bavaria, the area from which the NSDAP emerged. From Wikipedia:Political views of Adolf Hitler After World War I, Hitler stayed in the army, which was mainly engaged in suppressing socialist uprisings across Germany, including in Munich, where Hitler returned in 1919. In July 1919 Hitler was appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance commando) of the Reichswehr, both to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the German Workers' Party (DAP). Much like the political activists in the DAP, Hitler blamed the loss of the First World War on Jewish (i.e. Bolsheviks) intrigue at home and abroad. Hitler became impressed with founder Anton Drexler's antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist ideas. On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party, and within a week was accepted. Hitler was discharged from the army on 31 March 1920 and began working full-time for the party. Displaying his talent for oratory and propaganda skills, with the support of Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920. Party members promulgated their 25-point manifesto on 24 February 1920 (co-authored by Hitler, Anton Drexler, Gottfried Feder, and Dietrich Eckart). At the same time the party changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NS-DAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party. Back to top Brownshirts From Wikipedia:Sturmabteilung, Wikipedia:Stennes Revolt, and Wikipedia:Beefsteak Nazi The Sturmabteilung (SA), literally Storm Battalion (i.e. stormtroopers), functioned as the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. The SA developed by organizing and formalizing the groups of ex-soldiers and beer hall brawlers. It played a significant role in in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League of the Communist Party of Germany, and intimidating Slavs, Romanis, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses. The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts. In 1922, the Nazi Party created a youth section, the Jugendbund (youth band), for young men between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Its successor, the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend or HJ), remained under SA command until May 1932. In the second half of 1922 Hyperinflation caused many personal fortunes to be rendered worthless. When the German government failed to meet its reparations payments and French troops marched in to occupy the industrial areas along the Ruhr in January 1923, widespread civil unrest was the result. By November 1923, the US dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German marks. French and British economic experts began to claim that Germany deliberately destroyed its economy to avoid war reparations. The book, “Adolf Hitler: His Life and His Speeches,” by Baron Adolf Victor von Koerber was published in early fall of 1923. The book compares Hitler to Jesus, likening his moment of politicization to Jesus’ resurrection and using terms such as ‘holy’ and ‘deliverance’. It also argues that it should become ‘the new bible of today’. It is now suspected that Hitler himself wrote the book. The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup attempt on 8–9 November 1923 by the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler and other leaders, including Gregor Strasser a regional head of the SA in Lower Bavaria, to seize power in Munich, Bavaria. Röhm, Hitler, General Erich Ludendorff, Lieutenant Colonel Hermann Kriebel and six others were tried in February 1924 for high treason. Röhm was found guilty and sentenced to a year and three months in prison, but the sentence was suspended and he was granted a conditional discharge. After a few weeks in prison Strasser was released because he had been elected a member of the Bavarian Landtag While Hitler was in prison (and writing ), Ernst Röhm helped to create the Frontbann as a legal alternative to the then-outlawed SA. At Landsberg prison in April 1924, Röhm had also been given authority by Hitler to rebuild the SA in any way he saw fit. Hitler was released on parole on 20 December 1924 and Hess ten days later. The ban on the NSDAP and SA was lifted in February 1925. When in April 1925 Hitler and Ludendorff disapproved of the proposals under which Röhm was prepared to integrate the 30,000-strong Frontbann into the SA, Röhm resigned. Beefsteak Nazi was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe Communists and Socialists who joined the Nazi Party. These individuals were like a 'beefsteak' – brown on the outside and red on the inside. The term was particularly used for working-class members of the Sturmabteilung (SA) who were aligned with Strasserism. As a former Marxist in his early years, Goebbels once stated "how thin the dividing line" was between communism and National Socialism, which had caused many Red Front Fighters to "switch to the SA". Goebbels expressed that sentiment in a 1925 public speech, declaring that "the difference between Communism and the Hitler faith is very slight". The Mueller government imploded in late March 1930. Its successor, the Bruening government, was unable to obtain a parliamentary majority. Members of the SA in Berlin, led by Stennes, had for some time been voicing objections to the policies and purposes of the SA, as defined by Hitler. These SA members saw their organization as a revolutionary group, the vanguard of a national-socialist order that would overthrow the hated Republic by force. Stennes complained that advancement within the SA was improperly based upon cronyism and favoritism rather than upon merit. He objected to the general law-abiding approach that Adolf Hitler had adopted after the Beer Hall Putsch, and he and his men chafed under the Hitlerian order to terminate street attacks upon Communists and Jews. Stennes decided that action was needed to make a statement. The SA then stormed the Gau office on the Hedemannstrasse, injuring the SS men and wrecking the premises. In September 1930, as a consequence of the Stennes Revolt in Berlin, Hitler assumed supreme command of the SA as its new Oberster SA-Führer. The SA cheered and were delighted that their leader was finally giving them the recognition they felt they deserved. He sent a personal request to Röhm, asking him to return to serve as the SA's chief of staff. Röhm accepted this offer and began his new assignment on 5 January 1931. Röhm established new Gruppen which had no regional Nazi Party oversight. Each Gruppe extended over several regions and was commanded by a SA Gruppenführer who answered only to Röhm or Hitler. Many of these stormtroopers believed in the socialist promise of National Socialism and expected the Nazi regime to take more radical economic action, such as breaking up the vast landed estates of the aristocracy once they obtained national power. Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 by Paul von Hindenburg. Göring (the number two man in the Nazi Party) was named as Minister Without Portfolio, Minister of the Interior for Prussia, and Reich Commissioner of Aviation. The Reichstag fire occurred on the night of 27 February 1933. Göring was one of the first to arrive on the scene. (At the Nuremberg trials, General Franz Halder testified that Göring admitted responsibility for starting the fire.) The Nazis took advantage of the fire to advance their own political aims. The Reichstag Fire Decree, passed the next day on Hitler's urging, suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. Göring demanded that the detainees should be shot, but Rudolf Diels, head of the Prussian political police, ignored the order. After only two months in office the Reichstag body passed the Enabling Act on 24 March 1933 giving the Reich Chancellor full legislative powers for a period of four years – the Chancellor could introduce any law without consulting Parliament. Rudolf Hess was named Deputy Führer of the NSDAP on 21 April 1933. Hitler's leadership style involved giving contradictory orders to his subordinates, while placing them into positions where their duties and responsibilities overlapped. In this way, Hitler fostered distrust, competition, and infighting among his subordinates to consolidate and maximise his own power After Hitler and the Nazis obtained national power, the SA became increasingly eager for power itself. The SA leaders argued that the Nazi revolution had not ended when Hitler achieved power, but rather needed to implement socialism in Germany (see ). The SA numbered over three million men and many saw themselves as a replacement for the "antiquated" Reichswehr. Röhm's ideal was to absorb the army (then limited by law to no more than 100,000 men) into the SA, which would be a new "people's army". This deeply offended and alarmed the army, and threatened Hitler's goal of co-opting the Reichswehr. The SA's increasing power and ambitions also posed a threat to the other Nazi leaders. Back to top SS and Gestapo Originally an adjunct to the SA, the Schutzstaffel (SS), or protection squad, was placed under the control of Heinrich Himmler in part to restrict the power of the SA and their leaders. The younger SS had evolved to be more than a bodyguard unit for Hitler and showed itself better suited to carry out Hitler's policies, including those of a criminal nature. Over time the SS became answerable only to Hitler, a development typical of the organizational structure of the entire Nazi regime, where legal norms were replaced by actions undertaken under the (leader principle), where Hitler's will was considered to be above the law.Wikipedia:Schutzstaffel As Interior Minister of Prussia Göring had command of the largest police force in Germany. Göring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. On 26 April 1933, Göring merged the two units as the Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police), which was abbreviated by a post office clerk and became known as the "Gestapo". The first commander of the Gestapo was Rudolf Diels. On 5 March 1933, yet another Reichstag election took place, the last to be held before the defeat of the Nazis. It was not the landslide expected by the party leadership. Goebbels finally received Hitler's appointment to the cabinet, officially becoming head of the newly created Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda on 14 March 1933. Concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to effectively counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung (SA), Göring handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler on 20 April 1934. Himmler named Reinhard Heydrich (whom Hitler called "the man with the iron heart") to head the Gestapo on 22 April 1934. Himmler asked Heydrich to assemble a dossier on Röhm. Heydrich manufactured evidence that suggested that Röhm had been paid 12 million marks by French agents to overthrow Hitler. Hitler was also concerned that Röhm and the SA had the power to remove him as leader. Göring and Himmler played on this fear by constantly feeding him with new information on Röhm's proposed coup. A masterstroke was to claim that Gregor Strasser, whom Hitler hated, was part of the planned conspiracy against him. With this news Hitler ordered all the SA leaders to attend a meeting in the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee. On 30 June 1934, Hitler, accompanied by SS units, arrived at Bad Wiessee, where he personally placed Röhm and other high-ranking SA leaders under arrest. (See ). The homosexuality of Röhm and other SA leaders was made public to add "shock value", even though the sexuality of Röhm and other named SA leaders had been known by Hitler and other Nazi leaders for years. Arriving back at party headquarters in Munich, Hitler addressed the assembled crowd. Consumed with rage, Hitler denounced "the worst treachery in world history." War Is a Racket Back to top Einsatzgruppen In response to Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Poland on 1 September 1939, Heydrich re-formed the Einsatzgruppen to travel in the wake of the German armies. Membership at this point was drawn from the SS, the SD, the police, and the Gestapo. From September to December 1939 the Einsatzgruppen and others took part in Action T4, a programme of systematic murder undertaken by the Nazi regime of persons with physical and mental disabilities and patients of psychiatric hospitals. Then following a Hitler-Himmler directive, the Einsatzgruppen were re-formed in anticipation of the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). The invasion was set for 15 May 1941, though it was delayed for over a month. The Commissar Order was an order issued by the German High Command (OKW) on 6 June 1941. It instructed the Wehrmacht that any Soviet political commissar identified among captured troops be summarily executed. The Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, started at 03:15 on Sunday, 22 June 1941 during a waning crescent moon. On 2 July 1941 Heydrich issued an order to his Einsatzkommandos for the on-the-spot execution of all Bolsheviks, interpreted by the SS to mean all Jews. One of the first indiscriminate massacres of men, women, and children in Reichskommissariat Ukraine took the lives of over 4,000 Polish Jews in occupied Łuck on 2–4 July 1941, murdered by Einsatzkommando 4a assisted by the Ukrainian People's Militia. On the orders of Himmler, forwarded to Odilo Globocnik soon after his visit to Lublin on 17–20 July 1941 concentration camp Lublin (Majdanek) was established in October 1941. On 13 October 1941, SS Leader Odilo Globocnik received an oral order from Himmler – anticipating the fall of Moscow – to start immediate construction work on the first killing centre at Bełżec. In October 1941, Herbert Lange chose Chełmno on the Ner for an extermination centre, because of the estate, with a large manor house similar to Sonnenstein. The Generalplan Ost (General Plan for the East) called for deporting the population of occupied Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to Siberia, for use as slave labour. The initial plan was to implement Generalplan Ost after the conquest of the Soviet Union. However, with the entry of the United States into the war in December 1941 and the German failure in the Battle of Moscow, Hitler decided that the Jews of Europe were to be exterminated immediately rather than after the war, which now had no end in sight. Chełmno extermination camp was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps. It operated from December 8, 1941. In January 1942, during a secret meeting of German leaders chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, Operation Reinhard was drafted. Within months, three top-secret camps (at Bełżec, Sobibór, and Treblinka) were built. Under Eichmann's supervision, large-scale deportations began almost immediately. The extermination camps of Operation Reinhard kept no prisoners. To hide the evidence of this war crime, all bodies were burned in open air pits. In the second phase of annihilation, the Jewish inhabitants of central, western, and south-eastern Europe were transported by Holocaust trains to camps with newly-built gassing facilities. Germany invaded Hungaria (land of the Huns) on 19 March 1944. Berlin fell in May 1945. |} Highly recommend: War and Peace by Tolstoy Back to top Inside Nazi Germany References Category:Contemporary history